Keeping your brand consistent

There’s a lot of talk about branding these days. It seems to be the new buzz word. So what is a brand? 
 
According to Wikipedia:
“A brand is an overall experience of a customer that distinguishes an organization or product from its rivals in the eyes of the customer. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising. Name brands are sometimes distinguished from generic or store brands.”

Basically, a brand is your customer’s experience with your business. This means that every time someone interacts with your business, through ads, seeing your business card, seeing your logo on a sponsorship form, coming across any marketing or mention of your business, you are building their impression of your company. This is why it’s so important to be consistent in your brand. What does that mean, though? Consistent branding is key to sending the message you want. Below are some easy ways to keep your branding consistent across all platforms.

• Have a set color palette, and use these colors in everything you do. I always recommend customers have a brand board so they can refer back to it whenever they’re creating a marketing piece. You can have anywhere from 2 to 6 colors, but keep it simple. Provide these colors to anyone designing something for your business. You should have CMYK values, RGB values, PMS codes, and Web codes for all your colors.

• As with above, choose specific fonts you want associated with your brand, and always use these. I would suggest no more than 3 fonts, although you can add in variations of those fonts by using bold or italic versions. Keep it clean and simple-that helps get your message across.
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• Keep your photography consistent throughout your marketing. Have a similar style of photography, similar color palette for the photos. So don’t use a muted nature scene in one ad, and then a vibrant downtown scene in the other. It confuses people, because you’re not clear about your message.

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• Always use your logo (high resolution version) in all your marketing materials. You should have a black version, white version, and if applicable, color version of your logo in various file formats. Your designer should tell you which versions apply to which platforms.

• Keep your social media imagery consistent. Use the same profile photo for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Post the same types of images, and keep your message consistent throughout.

• When people see a post on Instagram, it should tie in with your website, and your business card, ads, etc. Consistency is KEY in branding. 
The above tips should help you get started in making your branding consistent across the board. As always, shoot me a message if I can help you with your branding needs!